Stop for red?
 

Do people in US and other countries stop for red? A lot of cyclists in Sweden don't care at all about the traffic lights.

Some do, some don't, some do whatever.

I'm American but live in Taiwan. Here it all depends on the intersection and traffic flow as to whether or not I stop fully. I always at least slow and look carefully because a scooter, bicycle, or pedestrian can pop out of nowhere often going against traffic.
In the USA I always stop at lights and stop signs.

At stop signs I at least come to a rolling stop. Stoplights I also stop at, but at times will treat as stop signs when there are no cars around and I know that the particular light is on a trigger.

For me it depends what the red light is controlling.

If it's a junction with other traffic I stop. If it's a pedestrian crossing I stop if there are any pedestrians either in the road or looking as if there's even a slim chance they'll cross the road.

If a pedestrian presses the button to get their signal to cross but crosses anyway before it shows, then what the road traffic gets is a red light with nobody anywhere near the crossing. Legally you're still expected to stop but practically speaking I don't see anything so bad about going through.

Jag saknar Stockholm på sommaren :(

A red means stop. If I wouldn't run it in a car, I wouldn't run it on a bike.

The reported crime rate in Sweden is apparently approximately 151/1000 inhabitants and rising. The numbers for the province of Quebec, Canada where I live are approximately 6/1000 inhabitants. I'm not at all jealous.

+1

I slow down at stop and stop at red lights.

After living in Stockholm and Montréal, I can firmly say that Montréal is quite the craphole compared to Stockholm in terms of quality of housing, transport and overall quality of life ... crime "statistics" be damned.

Meanwhile . . . back in the USA . . . I have to admit I don't come to a full stop at all red lights and stop signs, though I have become pretty good at the 1 second track stand where I roll up to the crosswalk and come to a complete stop for just an instant while not putting a foot down or even clipping out, then going again. One officer, who is a friend of mine, tried to tell me that wasn't a legal stop and that it had to be 3 seconds or something like that. I challenged him to show me the statute and he hasn't brought the subject up since.

BTW, here in MN we have a good overall quality of life and a relatively low violent crime rate.

I stop at red lights. There is one light on my way to work that takes a long time for it to turn green so I will always stop and see if there are cars coming on the cross street if I see none, then I go ahead without the light turning green. This one particular light seems to take much longer than any other light than I encounter.

That's why the red light is there.

on a bike:

stop sign = yield sign

stop light = stop sign

Yeah it's really nice here right now :-)

I usually roll through Stop signs after looking in ALL directions, if there are no other cars. Otherwise I will slow down until at least the other cars have gone. If there are multiple cars then I will stop and go on my turn just like a car.

Stop lights I stop, then go through if it's clear. The law here says that bikes must come to a complete stop at a red light, but may proceed if clear, due to bikes not triggering the sensor loops and such.

I suspect it's different in different states, depending on overall traffic volume and other factors. In some states, such as New Jersey, you don't have to remain at a red light until it turns green. There, for example, it's perfectly legal to roll through the light while still red once you've checked to ensure that no traffic is approaching.

Problem is, a lot of cops don't even know the complete rulebook as it pertains to cyclists, so you're taking a risk that you'll get hassled anywhere if you don't come to a complete stop.

When appropriate. On A bike I have much better visibility than a car. I usually slow at stop signs, and come to a full stop if there is a car coming on a cross street that has right of way. I stop at lights at busy intersections. The first light I come to on my morning commute is on a trigger that the bike doesn't trip, so I run it after coming to a near stop to check for cross traffic, that is light at that time of day, but can be moving really fast. I rarely stop for lights that are at the "Top of the Tee". Those are meant for cars, not bikes in a dedicated bike lanes. The law may say different, but my interpretation of the spirit of the law says it is OK.

Don't most dedicated bike lanes have their own set of lights?

I stop at red lights, all of them. If its a triggered light, i usually ride over to cross walk and hit the button or else i'll be there forever. At stop signs, i track stand, but look.

I get annoyed as hell when i see people plow through red lights on the route i ride, 3 lane high way isn't the safest road to blow through lights on when the speeds can be as high as 65+

The rate of red-light-stoppage is definitely higher in Stockholm than anywhere I've been in the US. That said, I generally stop and stay stopped at all red lights (unless it's clear the light isn't going to trip), regardless of what other cyclists around me are doing.

I think there's about 3-4 dedicated bicycle signals in the entirety of the United States.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=260740 Bike lanes, not bike paths. I do this one every day, and in a year an a half had to slow once for a pedestrian.

If everyone else is blowing stop signs and red lights, I go with the flow. Otherwise, I become an obstacle.

here in Miami Florida the cops give out tickets to people that run stop signs and red lights on bikes

I always stop. I see a lot of people who seem to be able to treat them as stop signs perfectly safely, however. I'm just lazy and prefer to just go with the flow.